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Obama Remains Upside Down in Florida

Despite carrying Florida twice during his presidential bids, President Barack Obama is underwater in the Sunshine State according to a new poll from Quinnipiac University as November's elections are on the horizon.

The poll, released Thursday morning, finds 50 percent of voters in Florida disapprove of Obamas job in the White House while 46 percent approve of it. In a January poll, Quinnipiac found 53 percent of Florida voters disapproving of Obamas performance while 42 percent approved of it.

Obama has his nose above water with women in Florida as 49 percent approve of him and 47 percent disapprove of him. He does worse with men, as a majority -- 54 percent -- disapprove of Obama while only 42 percent approve of him.

Democrats continue to support Obama with 81 percent approving of him while 91 percent of Republicans disapprove of him. A majority of independent voters surveyed -- 52 percent -- disapprove of Obama while 43 percent approve of him.

Despite Obamas poor numbers, the poll shows a former member of his Cabinet -- former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton -- defeating the field of potential 2016 Republican candidates, most of them by double-digit margins.

"President Barack Obama remains underwater in Florida, a state he twice carried, said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University poll. At this point, though, his unpopularity does not appear to be hurting Hillary Clinton.

The poll finds both of Floridas U.S. senators are in solid shape with voters in the Sunshine State.

After winning a third term in 2012, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., is approved by 46 percent of those surveyed while less than a third -- 32 percent -- disapprove of the job Floridas senior senator has done in Washington.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., in his first term, is approved by 47 percent of the voters while 39 percent disapprove of him. Rubio is one of the potential 2016 Republican presidential candidates but he has also left the door open to staying in the Senate or going to the private sector.

Matched against Clinton in the poll, Rubio trails the Democrat by 12 percent. The poll also shows Rubio is seen as favorable by 43 percent and unfavorable by 36 percent.

The poll of 1,413 registered Florida voters was taken from April 23-28 and had a margin of error of +/- 2.6 percent